Chapter 7 — Big Brother's Burden
Shattered not broken
Chapter 7 â Big Brother's Burden
Alexis Rivera had always been known for his gentle heart and polished smile. A noble heir in every wayâson of Duke Rivera, betrothed to the second princess, and trained to carry the future of the household on his shoulders. But behind that warmth was a weight few could see. A tension that never quite left his posture.
And it all started with Stella.
His little sister. His once-close shadow.
They had laughed as children, raced through the halls, shared stolen sweets in the kitchen. But everything changed the day their father named him heir.
Stella had looked at him that day with eyes that stopped smiling.
She didn't cry. She didnât throw a tantrum. She just turned cold.
She stopped talking to him. Stopped looking at him unless it was with biting sarcasm or unspoken contempt. And he... didnât know what to do.
"I didnât ask to be heir," he had whispered to himself so many nights. "Why do you hate me for something I didnât choose...?"
Even when she was rude to his fiancéeâthe second princess herselfâhe had stayed silent. Not out of fear. But because... she was his sister. He didnât want to hurt her. Never had.
So when the news of her accident came, Alexis had dropped everything. Meetings, correspondence, even a planned outing with the royal family. He ran through the halls like a boy againânot the heir of a Duke, just a brother desperate to know if his sister would live.
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She had looked so pale in that bed.
So still.
So small.
He had waited by her door. Not going in. Just waiting. Listening. Hoping.
And when she finally woke up... he didnât rush in.
He couldnât. He was scared.
Would she glare at me again? Call me a thief? Would she remember how much she hated me?
But none of that happened.
She looked at him. Blinked. And said,
"Oh... youâre the loud one. Always running... bleh."
It wasnât affectionate. But it wasnât cruel.
She didnât hate him.
She doesnât remember hating me...
It was a terrible, selfish thought. But it lit something warm in his chest.
They started speaking again. Not often. Not deeply. But she would respond to him now. She called him "big brother" when she was sleepy, and didnât flinch when he sat beside her. Sometimes heâd bring her juice. Sheâd sip it with a straw and yawn.
He almost cried the first time she asked him to hand her a blanket.
She asked me for something. Without sneering.
He knew it was wrong, but he wanted to keep her like this. Forgetful. Sleepy. But kind.
And then came the knight ground incident.
He had just returned from a morning ride when the entire training yard exploded into chaos. Maids were whispering, knights stumbling, Aster unconscious against a tree, and Stella?
Stella stood barefoot, wrapped in a blanket, holding a sword made of black metal.
Alexis had watched from a balcony, jaw slack.
"Is that... magic? Did she... summon a sword?"
She looked up at the sun, sighed, and mumbled something about being tired before stomping off like a sleepy goddess.
He didnât know whether to be proud or afraid.
Later, he visited Aster.
The knight looked miserable.
> "You alive, buddy?"
> "Barely. She broke my sword. With one swing. I think I have tree permanently embedded in my spine."
Alexis chuckled, tossing him an apple.
> "You got beat by a girl in her nightgown, you know."
> "That girl is a walking magical anomaly."
> "Still counts. Iâm telling the princess."
> "Donât you dare."
They both laughed. But in the silence that followed, Alexis stared at the wall.
"Sheâs different now... not just the power. Everything. Her gaze, her voice. Itâs like... the real Stella is sleeping inside her. But something bigger woke up instead."
Still, when she smiled at himâeven lazily, even brieflyâhe felt like a child again. Back when she used to tug at his sleeve and ask to ride horses together.
Maybe those days werenât gone.
Maybe this time, he could be a brother again.
Even if she now glowed like a sleeping star.